Tuesday, November 3, 2015

A Night of Music in the Garden

What
makes a garden an ideal place for the relaxation may miss the eye.
Beyond the beauty of flowers, of the diversity of life forms, and the
coolness it brings to a tired soul, there is still one more thing a
nature lover must not miss: a night of a music, courtesy of nature’s
miniature musicians.

Katydid,
(below) a long horned grasshopper (Phaneroptera furcifera), and the
field cricket (Acheta bimaculata) are the world's most popular fiddlers
in the insect world.I refer
to these principal singers, the cricket (Acheta domesticus and Gryllus
sp.) and the long-horned grasshopper or katydid (Microcentrum
rhombifolium), all belonging to a large group, Order Orthoptera, in
which the grasshopper is a typical member.Since childhood I have always
been fascinated by insect music. Stealthily, in many attempts, I tried
to look for the singer; but on getting nearer to the source of the
music, the singer abruptly stopped. I learned later that these insects
are ventriloquists and a slight turn of their wings or bodies would
deceive the hunter.But not until I finally succeeded in pinning down with a flashlight the little Caruso in the middle of his performance.He is well hidden behind a
leaf, brown to black, compact and sturdy, nearly two inches long, with a
long tail and a pair of antennae. His front wings are raised 45 degrees
above his abdomen on which the hind wings are folded. This is the
cricket’s fiddling position. Now he rubs the two leathery wings against
each other in a back and forth motions, a process called stridulating,
which inspired man to invent the violin. On closer examination the base
of the front in lined with sharp edge, the scrapper, while the ventral
side has a file like ridge, the file, which represents the bow of the
violin.And what about the
stereoscopic sound effect? A pair of tympana, which are drum-like
organs, found at the base of the front tibia, are actually ears which,
together with the raised wings, serve as resonator, sending the sound to
as far as a mile away on a still night.Now let us analyze the music
produced or is it only a sound, mistaken for some music qualities? A
sound produced by a single stroke called pulse. Each pulse is composed
of a number of individual tooth strokes of the scraper and file. Pulse
rate is from four to five per second, but on warm summer night the rate
becomes faster; thus, cricket are not only watchdogs (they stop when
they sense an intruder), they are also indicator of temperature – and
perhaps the coming of bad weather. It is for these reasons, other than
their music, that the Chinese and the Japanese love them as pets.The pulses of cricket are
relatively musical; that is, they can usually be assigned a definite
pitch, varying from 1,500 to 10,000 hertz, depending on the species.
Those of the long-horned grasshopper or katydid are more noise like;
that is, they contain a wide band of frequencies, including clicking and
lapsing, and cannot be assigned to a definite pitch. The monotony of
its sound must have led to the coining of the insect’s name,
katydid-katydid-katydid…There are three musical pieces
the cricket play. Calling songs are clear crisp, and loud, which, of
course, suit the intention when a female comes around and nudges the
singing male, his music becomes soft and romantic, lasting for many
minute to hours, and he forgets his role of warning of an intruder or
telling of the coming of storm. Anyone who is love- struck is like that.But worse can come all of a
sudden. This sentinel falls silent as he takes the bride. And when
another suitor is around, this Valentino takes a fighting stance and
sings the Storm the Bastille, a battle song.I came across studies on
insect music. I began to take interest, imitating it with the violin. It
is impossible and the audiospectrogram tells why. Biologically, only
the members of the same species understand one another. No two species
can communicate vis-à-vis this auditory means. This is one area in
development biology, which has not been fully explored. How did this
mechanism of species communication evolve? With computers today, can it
be explored as an alternative and safe means of controlling destructive
species? Maybe we can mimic the music a species produces to lure its
members, then trap or eliminate them.As the garden meets sunrise
with fluttering butterflies, so does it enters the night with an array
of concerto and orchestra music, and the garden becomes a place for
meditation. I say that the music produced by this insect –whatever is
the interpretation - is a sound of peace and a chant of praise for life
itself. The chores of the day vanish easily, and I find the evening so
relaxing and conducive to good sleep - and dreams.The great Charles Darwin
himself expressed his deep feelings for these night’s musicians in his
book, “Cricket at the Heart”. He said, “I love it for the many times I
have heard it, and the many thoughts its harmless music has given me.”Carolus Linneaus was more
affected by these insects. He kept them to send him to sleep. Japanese
children delight in collecting them, as American children trap
fireflies. Caged crickets are sold in shops. Haven’t I found a battery-
operated caged cricket lately? Computer age! Poet David McCord laments,
“The cricket’s gone. We only hear machinery.”As for me, I still find peace with these humble companions in the night. x x x

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About Me

Award-winning author of "The Living with Nature Handbook" (Gintong Aklat Award 2003) and "Living with Nature in Our Times" (National Book Award 2008); Recipient Father Jose P Burgos Achievement Award (2016); professor, University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University-D; former Director, National Food Authority; and Consultant on food and agriculture, Senate of the Philippines.